The Finnish government is bringing back the so-called "candy tax", i.e. a specific tax for sweets. However, the definition of "sweets" seems rather odd: it includes not just candy, but also things like lemonades, and any bottled water, including mineral water. Also, fruit juices will be taxed. However, other sweet (and somewhat unhealthy) things like biscuits and bakery products would be excluded.
I don't really mind the price of candy as such: sweets are today incredibly cheap if you look at historical price trends, and they put a burden on people's health. The purchasing power of children and adolescents enables them to get ridiculously large amounts of candy. But still, I feel very reluctant about guiding people's behaviour with taxes, because the side effects are often excessive and generally, I'd prefer that people are responsible for their own lives, not the state.
The food industry proposes that instead of the candy tax, there should be a sugar tax. I must admit that this makes a lot more sense than taxing mineral water as "candy".
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti